Day 3 started early as we departed Varginha heading back to
Sao Paulo. Another 300km in the book which was the last driving leg of the
trip. 1200km driven in 48 hours after a lengthy flight was going some, but it
was nice to reach SP and settle for a few days.
The Dutch and the Argie match was the exact opposite to the
game the night before. Solid and strong defending, some fairly uninspired attacking
play, and it all boiled down to a penalty shootout. One of the great things
about football is some of the ironic moments that occur. Romero, the Argentine
goalkeeper was brought to Europe by the Dutch manager Van Gaal when he was at
AZ, and spent a lot of time with him focusing on how to save penalties. That
certainly came back to haunt him.
I was sad for the Dutch, but happy for the Argentines. The
fans were great and the atmosphere for much of the game was fantastic. They are
sure to bring their A-game to Rio for the final. They were as close to English
club fans as I can think of in terms of their creativity when it comes to
creating songs. There were some crackers! I think it makes for a fascinating
final, but one I fully expect the Germans to win. Even putting the semi against
Brazil aside, I think they have far too much strength and ability in all units
of the team to beat Argentina.
The atmosphere emphasised my desire to do a Boca x River
match at La Bombonera sometime soon. It is one of those bucket list events
which will have to be done at some point.
The football is officially over now for us as we passed on
the final given the flights were crazy expensive to get out of Rio. Both me and
my dad are too old for 4 flights just to get home at reasonable expense. Not to
worry, less than a month until the season starts again!
Speaking of the new season, this is one of my favourites
times of year. Transfer time where every club has some optimism that at some
point, they will sign their very own Leo Messi. It will build to a crescendo until
August 31st, and you’ll very likely be disappointed when you end up
with your very own Kevin Kilbane. It keeps everybody occupied however until the
season begins!
The last time I visited Brazil was 1999. The one thing I can
recall was the food being pretty good – great meat, a lot of barbequed stuff,
black beans, rice, veggies…..plenty of good wholesome tasty food. I have the
same feeling from this trip. We’ve had some sensational fruit – the oranges
blow my mind! Yesterday was Picanha day – a huge chunk of steak with rice and
onion. I could have eaten two of them. Tonight is Feijoada time – a fabulous
black bean dish, which I am seriously looking forward to.
I’ve been known to travel to one or two places in my time,
and the food is not always to my liking. I recall struggling somewhat when I visited
China last year. After 178 dumplings in 4 days, all I craved was a piece of
toast! Typically I will eat anything. This is one place where I would not have
an issue with the food if you told me my flight tomorrow was cancelled and I had
to live here for the rest of my days. Essentially days 4 and 5 will consist of
food, drink and wandering around Sao Paulo. Of course there has been a
Caipirinha or two mixed in also, and there will be one or two more tonight. I’ve
had some shocking ones in Europe but they certainly have the knack over here as
you would expect.
We’re based in the financial district of Sao Paulo. It is a
pleasant area, seems quite safe. A lot of people have asked me if it feels
dangerous as so many hear from reports in the news. It is absolutely fine where
we are, zero issues and generally a good vibe. I am sure there are some shady
areas but which city doesn’t? No complaints here.
Tomorrow we fly home and we will miss the 3rd
place match. Cannot say I am disappointed. Aside from a third place match in
the Olympics where a Bronze medal is up for grabs, nobody cares about third or
fourth. It is almost as worthless as a friendly, in fact, possibly even more
so. The final however should be an intriguing one, and touch wood and flights being on time, I’ll be
perched at a BBQ in Leeds tuning it for it!
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